HIRSCHFELD (UNBEKANNTER BEKANNTER)

The Schauspielhaus Zürich’s reputation is based on artists such as Bertolt Brecht and Therese Giese, who established this theatre as a centre of cultural resistance against fascism during the Nazi era. After the war, Max Frisch and Friedrich Dürrenmatt achieved international acclaim for their plays. However, the intellectual mind behind all these successes has vanished into oblivion.

Communist, German Jew, immigrant and director of the Schauspielhaus Zürich: Kurt Hirschfeld’s life story, which took him from provincial Germany via Frankfurt am Main and Darmstadt to Zurich, then on to Moscow and finally back to Zurich, is an exemplary tale of a dedicated figure of the 20th century. He transformed the Schauspielhaus into a centre for cultural resistance against fascism in Europe. Stina Werenfels and Samirs film recounts the life of this remarkable theatre visionary and human being, as told by the last surviving witnesses.

A DSCHOINT VENTSCHR film production

We are looking forward to the film screening at Pfauen – just one day after the premiere at the 61st Solothurn Film Festival.

Following the film, we invite you to join us for a discussion: Republik co-editor-in-chief Daniel Binswanger will talk with the directing duo Stina Werenfels and Samir, the protagonist and daughter Ruth Hirschfeld, and literature professor Ursula Amrein about the film, Hirschfeld's biography, theater during and after World War II, and the anti-fascist legacy of the Schauspielhaus Zurich.

The screening is supported by the René and Susanne Braginsky Foundation.